Following the surprising retirement of Nick Saban and subsequent hiring of former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer, the Alabama football team was hit hard by transfer portal departures, losing 30 players who were on the team last season within weeks of Saban's retirement. Now of course, within today's college football landscape, wholesale changes being made to rosters, particularly when a new coach is coming in, isn't an obscure concept. When Deion Sanders arrived in Boulder to coach the Colorado Buffaloes, the roster was turned upside down and inside out within weeks of him inking the deal. But with championship expectations still par for the course in Tuscaloosa, any and all losses to the transfer portal would hurt Kalen DeBoer's chances of continuing the winning tradition at Alabama in his first season with the Tide.

Fortunately for DeBoer, one player who skipped the transfer portal and decided to stay at Alabama is quarterback Jalen Milroe. After a rocky start to the 2023 season, Milroe found his footing and established himself as a Heisman Trophy candidate by season's end. Now, Milroe spoke on why he plans to return to Alabama for the 2024 season rather than looking for a new home in the transfer portal.

“I’ve got a lot of stuff at Alabama I still want to achieve,” Jalen Milroe said, per Jamie Hale of ABC3340 in Birmingham (h/t Brad Crawford of 247Sports). “I signed my letter of intent to come to the University of Alabama. It’s all about staying here and building. The guys were have in locker room is a really good group. Super excited for what’s ahead for our football team. We’re excited to have Coach DeBoer in and the coaching staff that’s here.”

For Milroe, the chance to play under DeBoer, who helped turn quarterback Michael Penix Jr. into the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, could wind up being the best thing for his career. Milroe, who finished 6th in the Heisman voting in 2023, only attempted 284 pass attempts during the 2023 season. Washington was considerably more pass happy, with Penix Jr. throwing the ball 555 times in 15 games last year. Additionally, in Milroe, DeBoer has a quarterback who is a legitimate duel-threat weapon, unlike Penix Jr., who thanks to two serious knee injuries in his career, wasn't equipped to run like Milroe is. Last season, Milroe rushed for 531 yards and 12 touchdowns. The 12 rushing touchdowns led the Tide, and were the most by an Alabama quarterback since Jalen Hurts rushed for 13 during his freshman season at Alabama in 2016.